"110 Emergency Line, may I help you?" Since May 1 last year, the tenth anniversary of Shanghai's 110 emergency call line, earnest voices have been answering calls in English, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, French, Arabic and Spanish as well as in Chinese. Foreign residents of the city can dial 110 at any time of day or night and ask for help in their own language.

Eighteen volunteer translators, each skilled in at least one of the eight languages, are never without their mobile phones close by. When a call comes in to the 110 hotline center requesting assistance in a foreign language, the call is immediately routed to the appropriate translator. Once they ascertain the nature of the request from the translator, the police will dispatch officers to the scene.

Most of the volunteers were foreign language majors at such prestigious universities as Shanghai University of Foreign Languages, Fudan University, Peking University and Yanbian College of Jilin University. Their average age is 28.

In the past year, they have all had many memorable experiences working with the 110 service, and are much appreciated by the foreign community in Shanghai.

Zhou Jianwei, at 47, is the oldest of the volunteers. A graduate of Shanghai University of Foreign Languages, he was selected for his skills in Russian. He recalls one particularly busy evening: at 1:00 am on a cold winter morning, the ringing of the cellphone woke Zhou from a sound sleep. "On duty!" he cried as he leapt from his bed. The call was from a Russian resident of the new Gubei district, complaining that his neighbor's late-night hammering and banging as he worked on his apartment was disturbing everyone's slumber. Zhou calmed the angry caller as he reported the incident to his headquarters. Finally, the conflict was settled and he returned to his bed.

The cellphone rang again at 3:00 and a language similar to Russian, yet somewhat difficult for Zhou to understand, came from the other end of the line. Quickly, though, he figured out the problem: an Uzbekistan native had lost his way downtown. Ascertaining the man's location, Zhou was able to have patrol officers dispatched to help him find his way home.

Exhausted, Zhou fell back into his bed-only to hear the phone ringing five minutes later. "May I help you?" he mumbled sleepily.

"We are all on duty all the time, no rest for us," the French and Spanish translators smile. They are never without their cellphones, and often find themselves pulling their phones from pocket or purse to check the screen, afraid that they might not have heard it ringing. They seldom get invited to parties or outings any more, even on weekends and holidays, as their friends are all afraid they may miss an important call.

There are now more than 60,000 foreign residents in Shanghai, and tens of millions of foreign travelers pass through the city every year. The 110 foreign language hotline has become an essential service.

The Ukraine consul-general in Shanghai is so impressed with the service that he makes sure the Ukrainians living in the city know about it. The Shanghai branch of Motorola also publicizes information about the line to its foreign employees. "Our lives in China are safer and more convenient with the help of the 110 foreign language call service," says Yousuke Ikegami, a Japanese student at Shanghai University of Foreign Language.

People from around the world and from all walks of life gather in Shanghai, and a service like the multilingual 110 hotline is comforting to know about, useful when an unpleasant situation arises and may even be life-saving.

The head of the 110 command center at the Shanghai police station says that more than 100 calls requesting foreign language service have been made to the hotline. They have ranged from reports of serious crimes to public safety to transportation; the majority, however, are asking for counseling or other assistance. No matter what type of call it is, the volunteers provide the necessary help.

A number of callers, however, ask for help with non-emergency problems, like asking for directions or for help with acute illnesses. In fact, an amazing number of people call to ask for taxis or directions to restaurants. But the 110 hotline is for real emergencies, and tying up the lines with less important matters is discouraged.

The Shanghai Public Security Bureau is looking for more volunteers to work at the 110 hotline. It recently welcomed three more English speakers, a Spanish speaker and an Arabic specialist into the group.

Announcements and information sheets have gone out to places frequented by foreigners in Shanghai, such as college campuses, hotels and Sino-foreign joint venture companies. Word of the service is getting around, and soon those earnest volunteers will be contributing even more to their international community.

(China.org.cn by Wang Ruyue, March 19, 2004)